TheAmerican Bison Society (ABS) was founded in 1905 by theNew York Zoological Society[1] to help save thebison from extinction and raise public awareness about the species by pioneering conservationists and sportsmen includingErnest Harold Baynes (the Society's first secretary),William T. Hornaday,Madison Grant[2] andTheodore Roosevelt.
Over 40 millionAmerican bison (Bison bison) once roamed the plains and grasslands from Mexico to central Canada, shaping the landscape with their migrations, grazing patterns, and behavior. By the 1870s, their populations had been decimated by westward expansion and over-hunting. An 1889 survey published by Hornaday, who would go on to become the first director of theBronx Zoo, showed that approximately 1,000 bison remained in North America.
The American Bison Society was formed to prevent the extinction of the American bison. In 1907, the ABS shipped 15 bison from theBronx Zoo to theWichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve inOklahoma by cart and rail.[3][4] This was the firstanimal reintroduction in North America. In 1908, following successful petitioning by ABS, the US Congress passed a bill to establish a permanentNational Bison Range in Montana, provided that ABS raise the $10,000 needed to purchase the animals for the herd. They exceeded this fundraising goal, and in 1909, these animals were released on the new national range.[3] In 1913, theNew York Zoological Society (now theWildlife Conservation Society), working with ABS, donated 14 bison toWind Cave National Park inSouth Dakota, and ABS assisted in founding the herd atFort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge inNebraska.[3] Because of the secure populations of bison in these public herds, the ABS considered their work done, and the organization was disbanded in 1935.[5]
In 2005, the American Bison Society was re-launched by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to secure the ecological future of bison in North America.[6]
On August 12, 2010,National Geographic published a progress report on the Wood Bison Recovery Program atAlaska Wildlife Conservation Center that is supported in part by WCS - North America.[7]
The Wildlife Conservation Society holds the William T. Hornday records, which contain all his ingoing and outgoing correspondence during his time as President of the ABS.[8]